While The Cat's Away
by stealyourfood
Summary: Pirate! Eli, Umi and Honoka AU. Honoka leads Eli and Umi on a wild goose (cat?) chase which turns into more as they stray into unfamiliar territory. Eli POV. Don't be too friendly with animals (lol). hinted polyamory (ot4/ot3) A little drabble/thing. Which of course escalated. Not gonna list all characters because spoilers yo


**When The Cat's Away**

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A yelp, a yowl, and an angry Umi after them made Eli wonder how she would be able to mediate this situation. She pulled her white coat closer, but could not shield her face from the droplets of water pelting down angrily. Autumn was a bleak and gloomy season here, and she began to doubt her decision to make a stop at the port city of Sidus.

A raindrop landed in her eye, and she blinked it out furiously. She had spent most of her time out at sea, and was so glad to have both feet on solid, steady land, yet the weather had dampened her spirits. There was so much water around.

She shook her head and chased after Honoka. The ginger was in pursuit of someone- something, to be precise, and she was sure Umi had not seen it yet.

They had all given chase when Honoka yelled angrily, her words all slurred together as she bounced on the spot. They could make out 'thief', 'stole', 'from ship', and that was more than enough.

Honoka turned sharply around the corner, and Eli heard Umi curse behind her. She shook her head, determined to catch Honoka before Umi did. They could not afford to lose another crew member.

Suddenly, Honoka dived, her boots kicking dirty water onto Eli's face.

"I caught it!" Honoka exclaimed, grabbing the cat by its scruff and raising it up.

Eli winced, and heard the agitated pants behind her.

"We… we were running after a mere cat?" Umi growled, her hand resting atop the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it at any moment.

"Not a meerkat, this is but a common alley cat!" Honoka shook the cat, which meowed pathetically.

"Honoka, you mentioned a thief." Umi glared at the fearless girl while Eli tried to keep both of them as far as possible. Umi was very, very disciplined, while Honoka believed that everything she did was fine until some major accident occurred. Needless to say, their time on the ship had been hectic, but fun.

It was much more fun before, but…

The cat meowed loudly now, and Honoka grinned. "This adorable rascal did get away with something! I saw it!"

Eli leaned forward, and caught sight of something glittering in the cat's mouth.

"It better be something valuable. I simply am unable to believe that we left the ship just to track down a cat, and a black one at that." Umi frowned, and watched as Eli prised the object free from the thief's mouth.

The cat meowed again.

"Silly cat, you can't eat this." Eli turned the object over in her gloved hands.

A ring, no intricate designs, but a simple band of metal with a tiny green gem embedded in the middle.

"It's not that valuable." Umi took the ring from Eli, and inspected it. "The cat must have mistaken it for some bug."

"Poor thing. It might not be valuable, but it certainly isn't supposed to be with you." Eli shook a finger at the feline and patted its head. "Honoka, will you just let the innocent creature go?"

Honoka looked at the cat in her hands, and watched it whine and struggle.

"But it's so cute! Can we keep it, Umi?"

"No."

The reply was firm and instant, and Honoka shrunk back a little, her grip loosening.

The black cat leapt onto the floor and shook itself, gazing up at Eli curiously.

"We can't afford to keep any pets."

"But-"

"Black cats are often associated with witches." Umi stated, and her fingers instinctively found their way around the grip of her sword.

Eli peered at the cat one last time, and the cat looked back with desperate red eyes, meowing and brushing itself against Eli.

"I'm sorry, there's no food. But you are a pretty smart cat. Honoka would be too careless with you, and Umi would probably kill you."

"I might not." Umi coughed. "Let us not stand out here in the pouring rain. The ship is waiting for us."

"Aww, do we have to?" Honoka bent down to pet the black cat, which hissed at her.

"Honoka, I'll count to three."

"Umi, please!"

Umi rolled her eyes. "One…"

"Oh fine, fine." Honoka pouted and stood up, trailing after Umi.

"Well, see you, kitty cat." Eli smiled as the cat leaned into her touch, purring softly. "Try not to get into anymore trouble."

She quickened her pace to catch up to her companions, and caught a bit of their conversation.

"-hate this place."

"Is it because this was where Maki disappeared?" Honoka asked, and Umi flinched.

"She didn't disappear. We left her alone, and the witch…" Umi shook, not just her head.

"Umi…" Eli reached out for her friend, but clenched her fist instead.

"We told her to wait. By herself. And we didn't check on her." Umi rambled on, her voice only slightly steadier than her body.

"Umi, it isn't your fault!" Honoka shook her childhood friend's shoulders, and Umi laughed.

"You're right. It's that witch's fault."

Eli wondered if that really was true. The witch of Sidus was but a myth, was she not? Furthermore, Maki was a skilled fighter. There was no way a single witch could defeat her.

That thought was unsettling, and Eli felt chills, not from the cold gust which rattled the street.

"Let's just return, Umi, Honoka." Eli patted their backs, and the two confused, conflicted girls looked back at their captain. "We'll be fine."

They would be. They trusted her. Everyone did. Reliable, reassuring, capable Ayase Eli. She was that, wasn't she? Slow steps forward, just so she did not tremble as much.

"Oh yeah! Where's that cat?" Honoka started, and Eli looked back to the alley where they had come from.

"Ah, it's gone."

When she turned back, she realised Umi had stopped moving, her eyes fixed on a narrow path.

"Umi?"

The reply was so soft, and the pattering of the rain nearly drowned it out.

"Umi?" Eli tried again, not believing her ears.

"Maki. I saw her." Umi whispered again.

"That can't be- Umi!" Eli shouted as the swordswoman sprinted away from them, the ring she held clinking on the pavement.

Honoka leapt into action before her, as usual. Eli paused, grabbed the ring and slipped it into her pocket before running again.

"Umi!" Honoka yelled, and her voice was the only thing guiding Eli as the merciless downpour raged on, casting everything further than a 5 meter radius in a shroud.

Eli felt her boots skid against the road, and bit her lip trying to maintain her speed.

The next turn, right, and -

And she had lost Honoka.

She tensed up, the darkness of the night now startlingly more obvious as she found herself at a crossroads with not a single lamp around.

She could turn around, turn around, flee and run away but they needed her.

And she needed them.

She walked on, her erratic heartbeat and breathing the only things she heard, and amidst the rain, she saw - she saw red.

"Maki." Eli gasped, and pressed on against the darkness, the rain, the fear, curving into a

Dead end.

She stopped only when she saw Umi and Honoka - on the floor, slumped against each other.

"Oh, it's not with Honoka either. Nico-chan, are you sure you remembered correctly?"

Eli stiffened. That voice, that hair, it…. It couldn't be…

"Oh, I can't remember, alright? Give me a break here, Maki."

"Maki…."

"Oh." Familiar purple eyes scanned Eli. "Good evening, Eli."

"Do you know everyone here?" The other girl with Maki grumbled, and stepped out of the shadows to take a good look at Eli. "Ah, the nice one."

"What have you done?" Eli asked, feeling rage and fear bubble up, clawing against her throat, climbing up, up, up-

Her eyes finally settled on the other girl, who was wearing a black cape, similar to Maki's. She had black hair, red eyes, and a pair of cat ears on her head.

"You-you're -!"

Even with the confusion brought on by the sudden turn of events, Eli could guess what was going on. A black cat? A familiar? This was bad. The witch of Sidus was real, and for whatever reason, she was after three pirates.

"You both… are working for the witch, aren't you?" Eli gulped, her hand inching towards her own dagger.

"How observant, as expected of the clever and cute Elichika." Maki smirked, and Eli growled.

"Don't you dare." She snarled, and caught sight of the black leathery wings protruding from Maki's back.

She felt both emotions rise up again, and her finger touched the cold handle of her dagger.

Fear won

Eli kicked away, fleeing. They weren't human, they weren't human anymore, and Umi was down, Honoka was down, and she had to save them but she couldn't, she couldn't, she -

"Found you."

A sweet- perhaps sickeningly sweet voice and the overpowering smell of lavender enveloped Eli, striking more fear into her than the dark did,

"Please-"

"Please?"

She felt the grin before she turned around to face her.

The witch was younger than she had expected; not the old hag of her imagination, but a young girl, with two long twintails, bright emerald eyes, and a very impressive chest.

The only thing that screamed 'witch' was her ridiculously huge pointed hat.

"Please let my friends go."

"Friends?" The witch shrugged, and snapped her fingers.

A cat leapt down from the roof, and a bat swooped down, landing gracefully on the cobblestones before turning back into Maki.

"Oh, Nicocchi, you smell like wasted sleep potions." The witch sighed.

"I'm sorry, Nozomi." The black ears twitched. "But they were so strong. Nico did her best."

"Thank you, Nico." The witch - Nozomi pecked Nico on the cheek.

"Nico's just weak." Maki muttered, and Nozomi flashed her teeth.

"Oh, is Maki jealous?"

Eli took a step back. It wasn't that far to Honoka and Umi, she could go back and get them and somehow fight the witch off. She could just -

The witch smiled at her, and Eli found her feet rooted firmly to the cobblestone path, unable to move an inch.

"Your friends are fine. Just unconscious. But there is something we need from you."

"The ring." Eli gasped. All this trouble, for a worthless ring?

"A smart one, aren't you?" Nozomi smiled again, and followed Eli's gaze to her breast pocket. She slipped her fingers in, retrieving the ring deftly. "What is your name?"

"Eli." Maki answered for the girl. "Ayase Eli."

"I am already liking her more." Nico licked her lips.

"Careful, Nico-chan, Nozomi could get jealous."

"I won't." Nozomi chuckled, "but Maki might."

"What do you want from me?' Eli swallowed, wondering why her feet still would not move. Was it the witch's wish? Or….

"Hey Nico, Maki."

Eli's heart thudded and she shut her eyes as the trio advanced upon her.

"She's cute, let's keep her."

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AN: I might/might not continue this, not as a fic though (aint got time for that), but I am very interested to write little snippets of this AU.

I'll probably post most of them on my tumblr, and then publish a small collection of them on .

Thank you for readin


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